Singapore's key exports grew for a second straight month in August, with non-oil domestic exports (NODX) rising 10.7 per cent year on year. The growth compares with a Reuters poll forecast of a 15 per cent increase and extends the 15.7 per cent expansion in July.

MIDF said the report was below the market expectations of +15%yoy. It marked the 2nd consecutive month of NODX growth since Jul-24, driven by the expansion in both electronics and non-electronics products. Exports of electronics grew +35.1%yoy (Jul-24: +16.8%yoy), attributable to higher sales of disk media products and integrated circuits. Meanwhile, non-electronics exports expanded +3.7%yoy, but easing sharply from a +15.5%yoy jump in the previous month.

By country, the leading contributors to Singapore NODX were Hong Kong (+70.6%yoy), China (+18.8%yoy) and Malaysia (+28.6%yoy). Notably, Singapore's NODX to Malaysia rose was driven by sales of telecommunications equipment, integrated circuits, and other computer peripherals. On a month-on-month basis, NODX fell -4.7%mom in Aug-24 (Jul-24: +12.2%mom) lower than the market prediction of -3.3%mom. It marked the lowest level in five months, with the previous low recorded at -8.5%mom in Mar-24.

The house opines the continued growth indicates further expansion in regional trade. MIDF also expects Malaysia, as a key participant in the global supply chain, to be well-positioned to benefit from the increase in external demand, particularly for the E&E products (share: 38.5% of Malaysia's total exports in 6MCY24).